Movie Guide

Director: Bret Rattner. With Jackie Chan, Chris Tucker, Zhang Ziyi, Chris Penn, Don Cheadle. (88 min.)

Staff **1/2 Just put Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker together for 90 minutes, and you've got a hit movie. Here, the detectives chase Triad counterfeiters from Hong Kong to Las Vegas. Never mind that the sequel's stunts and fight-scene choreography aren't as impressive as that of the first movie - the amped-up comedy more than compensates to carry the day. By Matthew MacLean

Staff *** Flashy, nonsensical, simplistic, cocky.

VS/N: 4 scenes of innuendo. 3 scenes male posterior nudity. VV: 11 scenes, including martial arts. VP: 40 expressions, many harsh. VD: 3 scenes with alcohol, 3 scenes with smoking.

Director: Brad Anderson. With David Caruso, Peter Mullan, Josh Lucas, Brendan Sexton.

Staff * Director Anderson made a name for himself with "Next Stop Wonderland," a quirky and fun romantic comedy. Here, he brings us a disturbing, creepy horror film set in an abandoned mental institution. When a crew of asbestos workers arrive on the scene, they split up and start, well, removing asbestos. During this time, one of the members finds some old tapes of sessions - yes, nine - with a former patient with multiple personalities. Talented actors are wasted on an empty and aimless plot. By Lisa Leigh Parney

Director: Rob Sitch. With Sam Neill, Tom Long, Kevin Harrington, Patrick Warburton. (104 min.)

Sterritt *** Fact-based comedy about the triumphs and tribulations of the men who ran the enormous Australian broadcast receiver that transmitted live pictures around the world when American astronaut Neil Armstrong became the first human being to set foot on the moon. The acting and screenplay are amusing, but director Sitch might have taken a more adventurous approach to a tale with such an adventurous subject.

Director: Andrzej Bartkowiak. With Steven Seagal, DMX, Anthony Anderson, Jill Hennessey. (117 min.)

Staff ** Pandemonium reigns in Seagal movies. Here he's a Detroit detective who saves the US vice president from a kidnapping plot. His extreme tactics don't amuse the department's top brass, however, and they reduce him to daytime traffic details. But when he sniffs out a drug ring on his beat, he's right back to his old tricks. Plot twists and unusual casting keep this one from being a total cliché. By M.K. Terrell

Director: John Whitesell. With David Arquette, Michael Clarke Duncan, Leslie Bibb, Paul Sorvino. (93 min.)

Staff * Arquette plays Gordon, a letter carrier who has a problem with dogs and is clueless when it comes to kids. Suddenly he finds himself in charge of a beautiful neighbor's little boy and an FBI dog. Arquette shows a flair for physical comedy and warm male bonding scenes. Sadly, the director's uneveness of tone and poor sense of comic timing thwart the cast's efforts. By M.K. Terrell

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